Resources - News

This section includes the latest news relating to U.S. security policy around the world. Updated daily, the news provided in this searchable database highlights the most relevant security developments from around the world. 

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Iraqi premier, US look to aid Islamic State battle

Monday, November 24, 2014
The Pentagon plans to buy a range of arms for Iraq's tribesmen, including 5,000 AK-47s, 50 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 12,000 grenades and 50 82 mm mortars. The arms supply, described in a document that will be sent to Congress of its approval, said the estimated cost to equip an initial Anbar-based force of tribal fighters is $18.5 million, part of a $1.6 billion request to Congress that includes arming and training Iraqi and Kurdish forces.English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Author(s): 
Vivian Salama
Publisher / Source: 
The Associated Press
Tag(s): 
Terrorism
Sectarianism
Military Equipment

Special Ops Medical Team Advises Ukrainian Soldiers

Monday, November 24, 2014
About a dozen medical specialists from Special Operations Command Europe deployed earlier this week to Western Ukraine to coach Ukrainian soldiers on basic battlefield medical procedures, European Command officials announced Friday.English
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Author(s): 
Oriana Pawlyk
Publisher / Source: 
Air Force Times
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid

Can Burkina Faso’s Military Put the Country on the Path to Democracy?

Monday, November 24, 2014
Despite the Burkinabe military’s continued prominence in the transition, the United States never labeled it a coup. Blaise had become a U.S. ally, and as part of the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, the United States has trained Burkinabe troops.English
Country(s): 
Burkina Faso
Author(s): 
Molly Rapaport
Publisher / Source: 
Defense One

Hagel Said to Be Stepping Down as Defense Chief Under Pressure

Monday, November 24, 2014
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is stepping down under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty of the collapse of President Obama’s Democratic majority in the Senate and the struggles of his national security team amid an onslaught of global crises.English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Global
Author(s): 
Helene Cooper
Publisher / Source: 
The New York Times
Tag(s): 
Military
U.S. Policy
Terrorism

Georgia Promised Eventual NATO Admission

Monday, November 24, 2014
Russia under Putin has repeatedly stated that two former Soviet republics joining NATO would cross a “red line” – Ukraine and Georgia. Amid deteriorating Western-Russian relations over Ukraine, on Nov. 17 Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili visited NATO headquarters in Brussels. English
Country(s): 
Georgia
Author(s): 
John C. K. Daly
Publisher / Source: 
Silk Road Reporters

Pentagon, in Reversal, Won't Wait for Congress to Deploy Iraq Troops

Friday, November 21, 2014
The Pentagon said Thursday that it would begin deploying 1,500 new troops to Iraq "in the next weeks" without first securing funding from Congress, reversing previous comments.English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Author(s): 
Kristina Wong
Publisher / Source: 
The Hill
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
U.S. Policy
Military

Pakistan Receives 'a Squadron' of Surplus Jordanian F-16s

Friday, November 21, 2014
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has received into service 'a squadron' of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft from the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), a senior PAF service official disclosed on 19 November.English
Country(s): 
Pakistan
Jordan
Author(s): 
Gareth Jennings
Publisher / Source: 
IHS Jane's 360
Tag(s): 
Arms Control

Ivory Coast Soldiers End Protests After Government Concessions

Friday, November 21, 2014
Disgruntled former rebels now serving in Ivory Coast's army have agreed to end a protest over back pay and overdue benefits, they said on Thursday, following two days of talks with government ministers and a meeting with the president.English
Country(s): 
Ivory Coast
Publisher / Source: 
Reuters
Tag(s): 
Civil-Military Relations

The Colombian Navy Captures an Alleged FARC Semisubmersible

Friday, November 21, 2014
In a joint operation, the Colombian Navy and Air Force recently seized a submersible vessel that terrorists were constructing in the Department of Nariño.English
Country(s): 
Colombia
Author(s): 
Marina Shulamith
Publisher / Source: 
Dialogo Americas
Tag(s): 
Counternarcotics

Iraq Needs Weapons But Can It Keep Them?

Friday, November 21, 2014
Congress plans to re-evaluate Iraq's request for several big-ticket items -- including Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles -- after withholding approval for several months because lawmakers worried that former Iraqi leader Nouri al-Maliki could use the weapons against his political opponents or that the arms could fall into the hands of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which captured equipment this summer after defeating Iraqi forces. English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Author(s): 
Gopal Ratnam
Kate Brannen
Publisher / Source: 
Foreign Policy
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment
Arms Sales
Terrorism

Portman: U.S. Must Stand With Ukraine

Friday, November 21, 2014
Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said the stakes are too high for the United States not to help Ukraine defend its borders.English
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Russia
Author(s): 
Ramsey Cox
Publisher / Source: 
The Hill

Kurds Appeal to U.S. for Heavier Weaponry to Fight Islamic State Militants

Friday, November 21, 2014
The Kurdish local government in Iraq is urging the Obama administration to provide it with heavy arms, including helicopters, tanks and artillery pieces, to fight better-armed Islamic State insurgents, a Kurdish official said Thursday, providing new details on the request.English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Author(s): 
Adam Entous
Publisher / Source: 
The Wall Street Journal
Tag(s): 
Military Equipment
Terrorism

Russia Warns U.S. Not To Arm Ukrainian Forces Against Pro-Russian Rebels

Friday, November 21, 2014
Russia has warned the United States against supplying arms to Ukrainian forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, hours before US vice-president Joe Biden was due to arrive in Kiev on Thursday.English
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Russia
Publisher / Source: 
The Guardian

Why are the World’s Most Violent Cities in Latin America?

Friday, November 21, 2014
Of the world's 50 most dangerous cities, 43 are located in Latin America and the Caribbean. InSight Crime looks at some of the factors driving the violence.English
Country(s): 
Western Hemisphere Regional
Author(s): 
Kyra Gurney
Publisher / Source: 
InSight Crime
Tag(s): 
Violence

U.S. ‘Committed’ To Aiding Ukraine But Seeks Progress on Government Formation, Reforms

Friday, November 21, 2014
The Obama administration is prepared to “bring more resources to bear” to help Ukraine, but Washington and its allies are looking for more momentum from Kiev in forming a new government and implementing promised reforms, a senior U.S. official said as Vice President Biden arrived here late Thursday.
Country(s): 
Ukraine
Russia
Author(s): 
Karen DeYoung
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post

Stopping an Awakening in Iraq before It Can Start

Friday, November 21, 2014
A centerpiece of President Obama’s strategy for defeating the Islamic State is mobilizing tribal fighters to join the Iraqi military in retaking Anbar province and others dominated by Sunnis. But new research shows that the jihadists have been working since 2009 to gut the very Sunni tribal leadership on which Obama’s rollback depends — making the U.S. campaign much more difficult.English
Country(s): 
Iraq
Author(s): 
David Ignatius
Publisher / Source: 
The Washington Post
Tag(s): 
Sectarianism
U.S. Policy
Military and Police Aid
Terrorism

Jamaica Policeman Arrested, Facing Murder Charge

Friday, November 21, 2014
A Jamaican policeman facing a murder charge has been arrested at an island airport. The Independent Commission of Investigations earlier this year levied murder charges against eight other officers in the same police division in an unprecedented probe.English
Country(s): 
Jamaica
Publisher / Source: 
The Tampa Bay Tribune
Wire Service: 
The Associated Press
Tag(s): 
Policing

Turkish Army’s Special Forces to Train Peshmerga

Friday, November 21, 2014
The Special Forces of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), known as “maroon berets,” are set to launch a training program for the Peshmerga forces of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, a Turkish official has told the Hürriyet Daily News.English
Country(s): 
Turkey
Iraq
Author(s): 
Sevil Erkus
Publisher / Source: 
Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey)
Tag(s): 
Military and Police Aid
Terrorism

US: Immigration Plan Laudable But Incomplete

Friday, November 21, 2014
US President Barack Obama’s decision to suspend the deportation of certain unauthorized migrants will protect millions of people from the corrosive threat of removal, Human Rights Watch said today. The plan outlined, while deficient in key respects, will keep eligible families intact and help immigrants resist workplace and other abuses without fear of deportation.English
Country(s): 
Western Hemisphere Regional
Publisher / Source: 
Human Rights Watch
Tag(s): 
Immigration

Arms and the African

Friday, November 21, 2014
Last year military spending there grew by 8.3%, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), faster than in other parts of the world (see chart). Two out of three African countries have substantially increased military spending over the past decade; the continent as a whole raised military expenditure by 65%, after it had stagnated for the previous 15 years.English
Country(s): 
Africa Regional
Publisher / Source: 
The Economist
Tag(s): 
Arms Sales

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